Woodstock 50th anniversary festival in the works: Michael Lang

John W. Barry, Poughkeepsie Journal | Nov. 16, 2018


Photo: John W. Barry

The 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair will be celebrated with a festival in 2019.

That's according to Michael Lang, the Ulster County resident who was a promoter for the original 1969 gathering. However, details of who will be performing, and when and where the show will be held, are not yet available.

“We have definite plans,” Lang told the Journal on Friday.

He added: “I’m excited. I am indeed.”

Lang has served as the public face of this historic concert for five decades.

Lang said: “These are plans. This is not a done deal yet. But it’s very close.”

An official announcement will be coming soon, he said.

Considered the crowning achievement of the 1960s counterculture, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August 1969 attracted hundreds of thousands of people to Bethel in Sullivan County. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Richie Havens and Janis Joplin were among the performers at the festival, which took place against the backdrop of 1960s turmoil.

Lang with partners staged the historic event in 1969. He held a 25th anniversary concert in Saugerties in 1994 and a 30th anniversary concert in Rome, New York, in 1999.

The Woodstock site is now home to Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, which features a museum and indoor and outdoor performance venues, which host Woodstock veterans and contemporary acts on a regular basis. Lang is not affiliated with Bethel Woods.

Lang said the anniversary festival will be built around sustainability, activism and social justice, themes that “hopefully encourage people to get involved with our lives on the planet.” Lang said his goal is to harness the “history and essence of what Woodstock was.”

He continued, “We’re hoping to inspire people to speak up and get involved and get out and vote and help us save the planet. We are in trouble and it seems like we’ve been brought back in time in a lot of ways. It’s eerie how similar a lot of things are to the way it was in the late ‘60s. Lessons we thought we learned seem to be coming back, unlearned. The progress we learned in social justice seems to be going backwards.”

Doug Lucy of Fishkill, 65, said he is definitely interested to hear more about a possible anniversary festival.

"If they do it in the right place and it's not crazy expensive, I think it would great," he said. "I'd definitely be interested, really interested to see who is going to be there."

[www.poughkeepsiejournal.com]

Yeah, thats not gonna go over well. The others have been pathetic. But I understand the spirit of it. Wish it luck but you can't duplicate that sort of thing.

Lang hasn't aged much. Woodstock, Woodstock.... hmm; great event. Maybe he can find another way of celebrating it's impact. To throw yet another muddy get-together with bands waiting in line in helicopters to jam. The UK festivals are so much better, and set the standard for those gatherings of the tribes nowadays.
I just now thought of this: but maybe the US isnt a good place for rock festivals anymore.

Lest we forget the it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the flip-side that was Altamont.

"I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon."

Oh my. How many times can they milk this cow?

I grew up right across the Hudson from where they had Woodstock '94 in Saugerties, NY...I could faintly hear the drums and bass from my house at night.

'94 had a pretty great lineup...'99 was a horrific dumpster fire.

You would THINK the 50th anniversary would be the big one, but if he's only talking about it now, it sounds like it might be pretty anti-climactic.

Not that he needs advice (well maybe he does), but if he can look at the Desert Trip and the Arroyo Festival weekends out here in California,
and uses them as blueprints on how to cater to the crowds w/state of the art comforts, this could be something great for those who attend.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

seriously?

There was a real low key pair of 10th anniversary shows in 1979 with a killer Johnny Winter set and also a 1998 celebration with a great Pete Townshend set, both of which are easily found in the usual places.

1994 with the pay per view of all the killer bands when good pro-shot video was hard to come by was really awesome!

My mom took off the weekend, I called in sick, I had this uncle (RIP) who I had a falling out with several years before but he was recently afflicted with MS and Mom said I am leaving you the place to yourself and we are doing a grandma a favor and leaving Uncle Brian here.

Considering he was the one who raided the video stores for the only music videos in the San Gabriel Valley (Song Remains The Same, Rockshow, Who Rocks America, etc) for our massive all night VHS dubbing parties 10 years before it was a treat for him too.

I wasn't quite 21 so as soon as mom was gone we wheeled him to the liquor store for beer.

He was your typical born in the 1950's white male, hated rap or anything not classic rock but even he loved Cypress Hill who stole the show. Then again if your first musical memories are Elvis, Beatles, Stones then dudes rapping about smoking pot can still seem really shocking.

Together with Live Nation Concerts and INVNT we are joining forces to produce Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival: Celebrating the golden anniversary at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival! This pan-generational cultural event will feature live music, TED-style talks and special exhibits.

Line-up and tickets announced soon.

Coming August 16-18, 2019, this pan-generational music, culture, and community event will be held at BWCA just 90 minutes from New York City. These three days of memorable experiences will include live performances from prominent and emerging artists spanning multiple genres and decades, and TED-style talks from leading futurists and retro-tech experts. Festival goers will also be able to visit the Museum at Bethel Woods, which tells the story of the 1960s through immersive media, interactive engagements, and artifacts from the 1969 festival, as well as experience the special 2019 exhibit We Are Golden: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival and Aspirations for an Aquarian Future.

“We are thrilled to partner with Live Nation and INVNT to produce Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival,” said Darlene Fedun, CEO, BWCA. “Fifty years ago, people gathered peacefully on our site inspired to change the world through music. As the stewards of this historic site, we remain committed to preserving this rich history and spirit, and to educating and inspiring new generations to contribute positively to the world through music, culture, and community.”

The three-day festival will utilize BWCAs’ state-of-the-art venues and facilities. Entertainment villages and a number of bespoke performance areas will be specially created for the occasion. Full details of the event line-up, ticketing, non-musical experiences, and brand activity will be released soon.

[www.bethelwoodscenter.org]

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bye bye johnny


Together with Live Nation Concerts and INVNT we are joining forces to produce Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival: Celebrating the golden anniversary at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival! This pan-generational cultural event will feature live music, TED-style talks and special exhibits.

Line-up and tickets announced soon.

Coming August 16-18, 2019, this pan-generational music, culture, and community event will be held at BWCA just 90 minutes from New York City. These three days of memorable experiences will include live performances from prominent and emerging artists spanning multiple genres and decades, and TED-style talks from leading futurists and retro-tech experts. Festival goers will also be able to visit the Museum at Bethel Woods, which tells the story of the 1960s through immersive media, interactive engagements, and artifacts from the 1969 festival, as well as experience the special 2019 exhibit We Are Golden: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival and Aspirations for an Aquarian Future.

“We are thrilled to partner with Live Nation and INVNT to produce Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival,” said Darlene Fedun, CEO, BWCA. “Fifty years ago, people gathered peacefully on our site inspired to change the world through music. As the stewards of this historic site, we remain committed to preserving this rich history and spirit, and to educating and inspiring new generations to contribute positively to the world through music, culture, and community.”

The three-day festival will utilize BWCAs’ state-of-the-art venues and facilities. Entertainment villages and a number of bespoke performance areas will be specially created for the occasion. Full details of the event line-up, ticketing, non-musical experiences, and brand activity will be released soon.

[www.bethelwoodscenter.org]

This is just another Live Nation festival. What does Eminem, Ariana Grande or Pink have anything to do with the realWoodstock?

OFFICIAL WOODSTOCK 50 NOT AT BETHEL SITE. LOCATION ANNOUNCEMENT IN EARLY JANUARY.

Posted on Dec 30, 2018


Photo Credit: George Holz

Michael Lang, Producer and co-creator of the original Woodstock Festival in 1969, is producing the official anniversary, but not at Bethel Woods.

“While the original site in Bethel remains close to our hearts, it no longer has the capacity to hold a real Woodstock Festival. I’m delighted that Bethel Woods is doing events in the coming year to celebrate what we brought to life in 1969.”

In the next few weeks Lang will be announcing his plans for the official Woodstock 50th Festival to bring back the much needed spirit and energy of the 1969 original.

[www.woodstock.com]

Holy Crap

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Palace Revolution 2000

Lang hasn't aged much.

He hasn't worked much. Check out his Wikipedia page. He appears to have spent most of his life doing not much of anything.

[en.wikipedia.org])

Money. The only reason this is happening. Rock and Roll is a quarter century past its freshness date. Woodstock was vibrancy with new groups ascending. Woodstock 2019 would be nothing but rank nostalgia. I'll bet there's super VIP packages so the old farts (like me) with money (someone else) can sit comfortably up front in air conditioned tents with espressos on demand. (Please don't drink the brown IPA craft beer).

Even the groups that played in '94 are nostalgia acts now. There aren't enough new, decent groups to fill out one day, let alone three. To have any cred they'd have to search the world over for exciting new sounds.

no thank you.

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24FPS
Money. The only reason this is happening. Rock and Roll is a quarter century past its freshness date. Woodstock was vibrancy with new groups ascending. Woodstock 2019 would be nothing but rank nostalgia. I'll bet there's super VIP packages so the old farts (like me) with money (someone else) can sit comfortably up front in air conditioned tents with espressos on demand. (Please don't drink the brown IPA craft beer).

Even the groups that played in '94 are nostalgia acts now. There aren't enough new, decent groups to fill out one day, let alone three. To have any cred they'd have to search the world over for exciting new sounds.

You can bet Greta Van Fleet will be there.

And they have the TED talks to make it modern.

Lots of acts mooted:

Woodstock 2019 Confirmed, Pearl Jam & Foo Fighters To Play?

[]

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bye bye johnny
Lots of acts mooted:

Woodstock 2019 Confirmed, Pearl Jam & Foo Fighters To Play?

[]

My take on lineup. No chance I will go with a lineup like that.

2019 Woodstock festival with
Pearl Jam ok
Foo Fighters ok
Logic no
Chance The Rapper NO
Pink NO
Lorde NO, shoot me first
The Weeknd NO
Coldplay Meh
Kesha NO
Mumford and Sons meh
Lumineers meh
Demi Lovato NO \
Ariana Grande NO, shoot me first
Eminem NO, shoot me first then shoot me again
Graham Nash Good but doubt he will be there
Neil Young Yes but doubt he will be there
Santana Yes
The Who Yes but doubt they will be there
Phish No
Joan Baez ok, but retired
Bon Jovi meh
Elton John good but doubt he will be there
The Doobie Brothers meh
Zac Brown Band No
Florida Georgia Line No
Jason Aldean No
Daft Punk NO
Swedish House Mafia NO
Deadmau5 NO
Skrillex NO
Steve Aoki NO
Chainsmokers NO

But wait...

2019 Announcement Isn't Real

See Michael Lang's message a few posts back.

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bye bye johnny
See Michael Lang's message a few posts back.

Yes, thanks!

It's a mess already.

Meh, just release a mega deluxe 50th anniversary box set of all the available audio/ video from the 1969 festival and call it a day

“I haven’t heard anything, no. August in America is too hot for me to work in anymore. Since my Meningitis, my (body) thermostat’s gone up a creep and I can’t work in extreme heat anymore. I mean, you can’t re-do Woodstock, because the star of Woodstock was the audience. Well, most of them are probably dead by now, I don’t know (laughs). Law of averages, probably 50 percent of them are dead, anyway. You can’t re-do it — you can celebrate the dates.”

- Roger Daltrey

[1063thefox.com]

TED talks = dreadful

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bye bye Johnny


"Well, most of them are probably dead by now, I don’t know (laughs). Law of averages, probably 50 percent of them are dead, anyway."

- Roger Daltrey

Is he talking about the audience or is he talking about his band?

That list of bands looks bogus as hell, as if someone just googled "current musical acts" and cut and pasted the results.

HOWEVER, PJ and Foo Fighters alone back-to-back would make for one of a hell of a show.

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keefriff99

someone just googled "current musical acts" and cut and pasted the results.

That's exactly what Lang will do when booking the talent for this debacle. For all three previous Woodstocks, he's generally just booked current acts who were already planning to be on tour that particular summer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-01-06 15:37 by tatters.

It's unfair to write this off because of the line-up, or calling it a mess.
Original Woodstock was a humongous mess of logistics and last minute decisions, 11:59 calls. Actually that may be some saving grace right there; infuse with just a sprinkle of rock'n roll spirit.
And the bands - I mean: who else? Does anyone want to see the survivors of the 69 festival wheeled out? You want a young audience to come out; you have to give them young acts. And then the elder statesmen of those acts like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters; 90's acts.
I just think that Lang and that damn Woodstock trade name should pack it up. Like dmay said: "How many times you going to milk that cow?"
And like I said earlier, I don't trust US festivals. I;m not sure what it is; but somehow they don't fly right in USA. The UK festivals get it right.